Chương 18: Beat Oregon!
When Stanford students brought the big drum from the football field into the basketball arena, along with various oversized demonstration banners and signs, everyone knew things were serious.
The enraged Stanford students could not accept a defeat. Their fury had been fully ignited by the two players from Oregon.
This was probably why Coach McHaney postponed his plan to return to school: the pressure of this game was just too immense. In such an obvious disadvantageous situation, he didn't want to bear the responsibility of the outcome. McHaney firmly refused to shoulder that burden.
Coach Jamie Lin stayed up all night again last night, conducting the most detailed analysis of Oregon's inside players. This morning, he specifically called Billy Robin, Jonas Scott, and Frank Benson, the three inside players, to the video room for a detailed analysis. He urged them to pay special attention to Oregon University's forward, Maarty Leunen. This guy was strong both defensively inside and out, and he played hard, even a bit dirty. He hoped they would focus on him.
Time Warner, being California's largest regional channel, was broadcasting this game: the University of Oregon was now on a journey to challenge the most unlikely comeback championship. If they succeeded, it could be edited into a great documentary.
They had been filming Oregon for a long time, and Nike had provided enough sponsorship. It was worth noting that Nike's owner was an alumnus of the University of Oregon, so there was a special sentiment towards the alma mater.
Now that the alma mater was embarking on a great comeback journey, of course, he would be generous.
Furthermore, the Oregon Ducks had three budding superstars with a chance to make it to the NBA. Building a good relationship with them from the start would lead to many conveniences in the future.
So, they even invited the legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the commentator's seat.
Kareem had recently been staying in Los Angeles. The Lakers club had entrusted him with a new task: to train Andrew Bynum... The Buss family sincerely hoped that the skinny high school center could pick up the mantle of the legendary center and form a new combination with the "Black Mamba."
Kareem taught with all his heart, but Andrew Bynum's progress was very slow, and the reason was... the Lakers didn't want to increase Bynum's strength training at the age of 19. They wanted him to maintain his current physique.
Kareem had absolutely no objections to this. As a teacher, he hoped his students would learn as long as possible, and besides, the club would still subsidize him with part of his salary. For ancient superstars like Kareem, this was one of the few sources of income.
The players from both sides entered the court promptly at 3:30 PM.
When the host Johnny Watson listed the starting lineups of both teams, Kareem paid no attention to the Oregon superstars that Johnny talked about. Instead, his attention was captured by Stanford's number 10 player: "This guy's English name is Bruce Li?"
He said in astonishment.
Everyone knew the globally renowned Bruce Li was his martial arts master. He had even followed Bruce Li to make a movie back then... even though he was just an extra who got beaten up, it was still a precious memory for him.
So, when he saw a player of the same race and the same name as his master, a natural fondness arose.
However, the host Johnny Watson next to him said with a sour tone, "Yes, he is Bruce Li. In the last game, Magic even said he's Stanford's little lightning bolt, prepared to pitch him to the Lakers."
What?
Kareem was just too old, and his hearing was a bit dull. He didn't catch the sarcasm in Johnny's words.
"Oh! Really? Magic Johnson thinks so highly of him? Looks like... I need to observe carefully. If he plays well... I can indeed recommend him to the Lakers as a veteran."
Kareem said very seriously.
This made Watson so frustrated he could spit blood: Old man, the main theme of our game today is to praise Oregon. Why are you promoting the competition instead?
Moreover, the whole world knew that Teacher Kareem was a straightforward person. If Magic Johnson, as a business tycoon, could afford to be a bit diplomatic, Kareem was like a nail, straightforward and unwavering.
At this moment, the rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the arena finished, both starting lineups were introduced, and the head referee announced the start of the game.
In an instant, the arena was filled with the resounding echoes of drums and cheers, as if they were going to engulf the players of the Oregon Ducks, the visiting team.
"Are you Bruce Li?"
As Li Zhen took his position amidst the cheering, a slender figure briskly approached him, raising an arrogant expression.
"I heard you're fast?" he said, a hint of arrogance in his tone.
"Yes, I'm fast. And only a tad slower than you. In a full-court game, you won't have an absolute advantage," Li Zhen replied seriously. He had carefully studied Brooks' videos and concluded that Brooks indeed had a slightly higher top speed. According to his calculations as a talent enthusiast, Brooks' speed was probably around 86-88. However, the game wasn't solely about speed. With Li Zhen's current speed of 80 points, he could easily keep up.
Heh!
Brooks shook his head, finding this Chinese guard quite amusing.
Just then... snap!
Scott, leveraging his superior bounce, sent the basketball flying.
Li Zhen hurriedly dashed forward to retrieve it.
This made Brooks give him a sideways glance. Li Zhen's swift movement just now had genuinely surprised him.
He immediately chased after him, but Li Zhen showed no signs of slowing down. As he sprinted with Brooks in hot pursuit, when they rushed to the three-point arc, Li Zhen suddenly changed direction. He executed a solid pick-and-roll with the rapidly advancing Frank Benson. While Brooks was still squeezing with all his might, trying to maneuver around the pick, Li Zhen had already, like lightning, infiltrated the paint.
Maarty Leunen, guarding the paint, rushed over. He looked fierce, wearing a menacing expression. But the slender Li Zhen showed no fear. He continued to step toward the paint. When he brought the defense deep, he swiftly went up for a layup. Leuning hastily jumped, attempting to block.
However, just as he leaped into the air, he suddenly realized: Where was the ball? Where was the basketball he had in his hands?
At this very moment, Jonas Scott grabbed the basketball that originally belonged to Li Zhen and attacked it mid-air. Leuning quickly crouched down to evade, but he was still a beat too slow... Boom!
Scott completed a thunderous dunk right above him. He conveniently hid behind him as the backdrop.
The journalists under the basket captured this moment promptly.
The arena had long been boiling with excitement along with the violent dunk.
Starting with a dunk, this play was just so satisfying!
Everyone was cheering for Player #19!
Although they didn't know how the basketball suddenly came out from deep within the paint, Scott's dunk was just too powerful.
"Bruce Li handled this ball so well. His use of pick-and-rolls and timing of the breakthrough are at their peak. What amazed me the most was his passing. That risky move to lure the opponent in, though a bit daring, was executed so convincingly. And while he tricked the opponent into jumping with a fake move, he used a beautiful NO-look pass. This play reminds me of Magic Johnson back in the day."
"Fantastic!"
Kareem praised sincerely, "Ninety percent of the credit for this offense goes to Bruce Li. No wonder Magic Johnson appreciates him; they're of the same lineage of point guards."
Uh...
Johnny Watson didn't want to say anything.
At the same time, the arena erupted in another wave of excitement. The large screen above replayed the entire process of Li Zhen's pass. Everyone finally saw how the basketball got to Scott.
They couldn't help but cheer for this wonderful pass.
If Scott's dunk was like heavy industrial-style steampunk, then Bruce's pass was like a Renaissance painting by Michelangelo, exquisite and beautiful!
"BEAT-UO!!"
Soon, the cheers from the entire arena turned into a uniform chant: Beat Oregon!
Meanwhile, Brooks had locked onto Li Zhen, preparing to launch a fierce counterattack.
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực